Specialist Inpatient Peer Support Worker Programme

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit on behalf of Birmingham Women and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, as Lead Provider of the West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative (https://toucanwestmids.nhs.uk/), are seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced providers for the provision of an Specialist Inpatient Peer Support Worker Programme The Specialist Inpatient Peer Support Worker (PSW) Programme is for the West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative (WMCPC).

The programme is for Children and Young people who are admitted to a Tier 4 inpatient unit aged 13-17 years (inclusive). As a result of this Competitive Process, a subcontract under the Lead Provider(s) head contract will be awarded to the successful Provider for a period of 2 years, with the Commissioner having the option to extend for up to a further 1 year.

The annual value is £300,000. It is anticipated that the contract award (for the provision of a Specialist Inpatient Peer Support Worker Programme will be from 1 January 2027.

Birmingham Women and Children's NHS Foundation Trust confirm that they currently intend to run a compliant process under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (as amended) to award a new contract for a lead provider (s) of specialised child and adolescent mental health services in the West Midlands from 1 January 2027. Further details are provided in II.2.4.1

The Specialist Inpatient Peer Support Worker (PSW) Programme is for the West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative (WMCPC). The programme is for Children and Young people who are admitted to a Tier 4 inpatient unit aged 13-17 years (inclusive).

NHSE recognises peer support as a supported self-management intervention. It happens when people with similar long-term conditions, or health experiences, come together to support each other – either on a one-to-one or group basis.

It is enabled through relationships that build mutual acceptance and understanding. Peer support is a valuable resource for people and their families and carers; empowering them to take ownership of, and have more control over, their health and wellbeing.

It enables people to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to self-manage and address other issues that might be affecting their health, such as loneliness or self-esteem. The power of peer support lies in connecting people with shared experience to create an encouraging, inspiring, and safe space.

This personalised, holistic support focuses on wellbeing and understanding lived experience, rather than clinical interventions. This peer support service, majoratively delivered within CAMHS inpatient settings aims to: • Contribute to a reduction in length of admission by increasing a young persons level of engagement in their treatment plan, promoting recovery and a positive experience of discharge. • Deliver patient-centred, trauma-informed, psychologically informed support, via the PSW approach. • Deliver supportive care and mentorship to young people with a focus on relationship building during their inpatient stay.

Award Criteria: Basic Selection Criteria – Pass/Fail or For Information only Quality and Innovation – 33.00% Value – Pass/Fail Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability – 30.00% Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice – 12.00% Social Value – 10.00% Unseen Presentation - 15.00% The evaluation process covers a number of discrete stages which are outlined in Document 1 at 27.2.1.

Evaluators will score answers for each question as either pass or fail or using a scale of 0-5 (where 0 is unacceptable and 5 is excellent) for scored questions as above and detailed within Document 1 at 27.3.2. Evaluations will be carried out by a panel made up of representatives (“evaluators”) from Commissioners and their advisors.

Additional information: This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Contract Notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (as amended).

For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023, save for those requirements detailed in regulation 28 of the Procurement Act 2023 (Consequential and Other Amendments) Regulations 2025, do not apply to this award. In addition, neither the placement of this notice nor any subsequent notice shall bind the Commissioner to the award of any contract.

Providers wishing to bid for this opportunity should access the eProcurement portal, as detailed below, where they can find submission requirements and relevant information of the services. Providers should read the instructions carefully before compiling their submission. To access the relevant documentation relating to this opportunity, please follow the instructions below on how to access the eTendering portal: 1) Go to https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome and click the link to register (if your organisation has not registered previously) 2) Once registered, login to the system and look for Quote/tender "C459086 – Specialist Inpatient Peer Support Worker Programme"